Waste Management contract

Select Environmental Services is the University's preferred supplier for non-hazardous waste

Changes to workplace recycling in England

Please note that from 31 March 2025, new legislation will be coming into force regarding how workplaces should segregate their waste. Please see Simpler Recycling - Workplace Guidance below. 

 

This includes waste recycling, waste recovery and non-hazardous general waste. This contract provides a pay by weight service, so you only pay for the material you dispose of (subject to certain minimum charges). 

The contract has brought significant compliance, financial and reporting benefits with new recycling initiatives recently launched including Expanded Polystyrene and Polypropylene material collection services.  

Hazardous waste (including biological, clinical, sharps, syringe bodies and ionising radiation) is managed outside of this agreement; details are available on the Safety Office website.

Managing your waste 

Before disposing or arranging waste collections, speak to your building, facilities or office manager or head of department. If you are an existing FM customer, you can log waste requests via the Estates Helpdesk.

For general waste advice contact Estates Services on wastemangement@admin.ox.ac.uk or speak to your Select Environmental Services technical manager on oxford@selectenviro.co.uk or +44 (0)118 975 9000.

Services and collections provided by Select Environmental Services

  • Dry Mixed Recycling
  • Food Recycling
  • Pallet Recycling
  • Metal Recycling
  • Wood Recycling
  • Confidential waste shredding and recycling  (Please note this service is operated by Select Environmental Services under the Securico brand, a wholly owned part of their business, with collection bins and bags for shredding marked as such)
  • Glass Recycling
  • Expanded Polystyrene Recycling
  • Pipette Tip Box Recycling
  • Offensive Hygiene Waste
  • General waste
  • Water Filter Recycling
  • Printer Toner Cartridge Recycling

View details of the current Select Environmental Services collection and disposal charges (behind SSO).

Ordering new bins or need new collection services?

Select Environmental Services can provide a low-cost alternative to skip hire with Junk Collectors, is a service where a two-man team is provided to lift, load and recycle all of your waste. To book this service, download and fill in the waste clearance request form, and return to oxford@selectenviro.co.uk.

Variable collections efficiencies

Select Environmental Services can flex the frequencies and number of containers they can collect for you, to accommodate varying waste volumes you may have. We recommend regularly reviewing your collection arrangements to save costs and avoid unnecessary journeys. For example, changes in occupancy such as the end of term may mean you need fewer collections, or you may be able to store larger containers to reduce collections. Select Environmental Services are currently working through a programme of reviewing waste collection arrangements for different buildings to see what efficiency opportunities exist. For guidance on this please speak to your Select Environmental Services technical manager via oxford@selectenviro.co.uk, or +44 (0)118 975 9000. 

Want to know how much waste and recycling your building’s producing? 

You can do this by accessing Systems Link to see up to date waste collection figures and your recycling percentages. Please note that the data is updated in delay of up to 3 months and on a quarterly basis.

Further information

You have a legal responsibility (duty of care) to ensure that you produce, store, transport and dispose of your business waste without harming the environment.

You are specifically responsible for your waste from when you produce it until you have transferred it to an authorised person (a person or organisation registered with the Environment Agency who is permitted to collect or carry waste). However, your duty of care extends along the entire chain of management of your waste and has no time limit. This means you must dispose of waste items in the correct bin, to avoid contaminating the entire collection, and if you are disposing of irregular items you must detail them on the collection form so that the correct disposal route can be identified and used.

Select Environmental Services provide annual waste transfer notes and issue these to the appropriate person. These should be held for at least two years for audit and compliance purposes.

The FM Contracts team, in conjunction with the Estates Services Compliance team, carry out regular audits at waste processing facilities to ensure that the University’s waste material is being dealt with in a compliant manner.

Actions 

  • Note the new legal duty for all workplaces to segregate waste. 
  • Buildings with food waste collection should determine any changes needed to waste procedures or signage and make these by 31 March. 
  • Buildings without food waste collection should assess their needs considering the new regulation and adjust accordingly.  
  • Send any questions to the Environmental Sustainability team at: sustainability@admin.ox.ac.uk  
  • Request waste stickers as needed with this form. Please note the instructions below.  

Additional information  

New legislation means that from 31 March 2025, all workplaces in England have a legal duty to segregate their waste into the following categories for separate collection:  

  • dry recyclable materials    
  • food waste  
  • black bin waste (residual waste) 

As a result, many University buildings need to update their waste separation procedures and/or signage.  

In buildings with food waste collection, we recommend the following actions:  

  • Update all signage around general waste bins - the Environmental Sustainability team (ES) will provide new stickers making it clear these should not be used for food waste. 
  • Add dedicated food waste bins across the building in kitchens and eating areas - again, ES will provide new stickers. 
  • If possible, these bins should be dark green to match the County Council's food waste caddies. 
  • New stickers will be A5, provided by ES. ES will also provide the sign designs (Portrait A3, A4) so you can print your own posters.  
  • Other sign options, more complex, are available to order from Select Environmental Services, the University waste management contractor. See more details below.  

No immediate action is needed in FM-managed buildings without food waste collection, since an assessment of their food waste production is already underway. 

Those in non-FM-managed departmental buildings need to carry out their own assessment of how much food waste is being produced and how this can be managed to comply with the legislation. 

Buildings that produce large volumes of food waste may need to set up a dedicated collection with Select; those that produce less may be able to share a collection with other facilities nearby. This can be discussed directly with Select.

Estates FM will be assessing food waste volumes in two FM-managed buildings without waste collection to estimate the amount of food waste generated and what is needed to comply with the new regulation over the next six months. We will share the results of this through the FM Forum as soon as they are available. Departments in non-FM managed buildings are responsible for ensuring compliance with the new regulations and may wish to carry out their own assessment.  

Opportunity for a change to improve recycling in general 

Implementing the changes above offers an opportunity for change in waste settings in general.  

A pilot project from 2022 demonstrated a significant increase in recycling rates by changing the setting of the bins in the building. Changes included removing all personal bins (in offices or by working stations) and replacing them with clearly marked recycling stations in communal spaces. The pilot project demonstrated an increase in recycling rates from 23% to 40%.  Discover more in our presentation.

The Environmental Sustainability team can offer communication resources to support this change in buildings. 

Stickers and digital designs ready for distribution by 17 March

The ES team will provide up to 40 stickers for every building without charge – we are happy to send more later if you run out, so please try to order only what you need right away. 

Please register your request.  

Bins signs options available to order from Select directly:  

  • 2-Station (DMR/GW) - £44.45 each 
  • 3-Station (DMR/GL/GW) - £69.95 each 
  • Label to replace the black panel on each backboard - £8.85 each  
  • Lead time approx. 7 days. Email oxford@selectenviro.co.uk to place an order.   

The University has been informed of a change in the regulations on the disposal of certain wood products from buildings constructed before 2007, which are now classified as hazardous waste. 

Affected items include:

  • Barge boards
  • External fascia
  • Soffit boards
  • External joinery
  • External doors
  • Roof timber
  • Tiling cladding
  • Tiling battens
  • Timber frames
  • Timber joists

This means that wood recyclers will not accept items from these categories unless they have undergone appropriate tests to prove they are not hazardous. Organising this testing is the responsibility of the department that produces the waste.

Guidance and disposing of hazardous wood waste arranging testing is now available. Disposal can still be done via the University’s waste contractor, Select Environmental Services. 

If you have any questions, please contact:

The University has been informed of a change in the regulations on the disposal of certain soft furnishings.

The affected items include upholstered sofas, armchairs and seating, which may contain Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and other potentially harmful chemicals. The furnishings are not hazardous when in use, but POPs do not break down naturally; they are safe if they are disposed of properly through incineration but can pose a risk to humans and wildlife otherwise. 

Guidance on how to dispose of soft furnishings is now available. The guidance details the types of items that may contain POPs and how you should dispose of them via the University’s non-hazardous waste supplier, Select Environmental Services. 

If you have any questions, please contact one of the following:

Guidance on how to recycle a wide variety of materials and products is available on the Sustainability website.

Find out more

Select Environmental Services guide to recycling

DOWNLOAD POSTER

 

Related links

Get in touch

Want to know more about our contracts?

Richard Alexander, Head of Contracts

07342 709372

richard.alexander@admin.ox.ac.uk

Max Horner, Contracts Manager

07775 026875

maxwell.horner@admin.ox.ac.uk

Romana Hafeez, FM Contracts Coordinator

07464 529777

romana.hafeez@admin.ox.ac.uk